"Food security will deteriorate further unless leading countries can collectively mobilize to stabilize population, restrict the use of grain to produce automotive fuel, stabilize climate, stabilize water tables and aquifers, protect cropland, and conserve soils." — Lester Brown, World Facing Huge New Challenge on Food Front

People in Action: Spreading the Plan B Vision

October 18, 2011

Each year, Earth Policy Institute (EPI) receives hundreds of letters and e-mails from people who are inspired by our work and are eager to help in building a sustainable future. They have reached out to their communities, co-workers and peers, religious groups, and elected officials to address the mounting pressures on our global environment. Like EPI President Lester Brown says, “Saving civilization is not a spectator sport.” The level of dedication we have seen from people proves this. EPI would like to highlight some of the people from around the world who have mobilized to encourage political, environmental, and social change. For more examples, take a look at our Action Center.

Robert Spence of Bridgeton, New Jersey, set up a special viewing of the Plan B film in a small theater in town. Copies of World on the Edge were available for purchase. Donations to see the film as well as proceeds from the book sales went to support the local library.

Hamid Taravati, a physician and environmentalist, spoke to 70 Iranian mayors, including those of Mashad and Isfahan, about designing cities for people not cars, information he got from Plan B. Copies of the Iranian edition of Plan B 2.0 were also distributed at this Green City conference.

Professor Polly Chandler from Antioch University in New England is using Lester's work for their MBA classes on sustainability. To see details about the program, check out their blog here.

Marc Zischka of Ecologik Business has been translating EPI’s Updates, Indicators, and Book Bytes into French for the past five years, posting them on a website specifically designed for this outreach. He also distributes them through his mailing list. He has been aided in this work by Frédéric Jouffroy. More recently, he and Frédéric helped translate World on the Edge into French. This edition, entitled Basculement, and co-published by Souffle Court and Rue de l’echiquier was released in October 2011.

Richard Brummel of New York was inspired by Lester Brown's work so much, he created a website named Planet-In-Peril.org. The website is an "effort to influence local issues that feed into the larger problems faced by the global environment."

Deborah Cook from Wicked Local created a shirt design with a quote from Lester to raise awareness of overpopulation and the environment.

Dan Redmond, a graduate student in the Sustainability and Environmental management at Harvard University Extension School, was inspired by a paragraph in Plan B 4.0 about solar-powered cookers. He wrote a research paper titled "Cooking with the Sun; A solution to mitigate deforestation for cooking fuel," and also made an 8-minute documentary short on the subject.